Improve your memory for vocabulary!

If you want to learn a lot of vocabulary (and vocabulary is crucial for being able to function in English), it’s very useful to do two things: build your own personal dictionary and make your ownword puzzles to solve. The more often you think about a word, the better you will remember it.

Building your own dictionary is an excellent way to make sure that words stick to your memory. For this, it’s best to use a low-tech method. Using paper is slower than doing it on computer, but more effective because you will spend more time with each word, and you can’t cut-and-paste! Use a small-size ring binder which has tabs to separate sections. Use a whole page for each word.

Write

* the word,

* its pronunciation

* its definitions

* its synonyms and antonyms (if any)

* at least two example sentences using the word (find these examples in English books or magazines or on-line, don't make them yourself); if you use the word in several ways, have a sentence for each way.

* If you sometimes make mistakes with the word, make note of your mistakes so you can avoid them.

* If you can draw a picture of the word, do so.

When you have done a few words, think of a good system to organize your words. You can put them in alphabetical order, or put them in categories (like medical words, food words, travel words), and then alphabetical order within the categories – group them in the way you like best. It’s your dictionary!

Once you have 20 or 30 words in your dictionary, make your own crossword puzzle with them. You can use a free crossword puzzle maker like this one: http://en.puzzle-maker.com/crossword.There are several different word puzzle makers available online. Enter the words and definitions, and the site will create a puzzle to help you study them in a fun way. It’s especially good to make a crossword puzzle with words that look or sound similar to each other – this will really test your memory!